


Stand Back

by lnekkas



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Multiple chapters, Other Background Characters - Freeform, more tags as the story progresses, shenanigans at amnesty lodge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-15 18:43:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18675334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lnekkas/pseuds/lnekkas
Summary: Aubrey, Jake, and Dani come to consider Kepler home.A look at life at Amnesty Lodge, set between arcs.





	1. Chapter 1

It’s a mild November evening. Ned had shot a being made of energy and water with a gun three weeks earlier, and then Jake had been forced to confront his haunting personal past on Mount Kepler two weeks after that, so Aubrey, Dani, and Jake have decided to take a breather. They’re headed to Kepler’s resident bar, the Poplar Pub, on Aubrey’s suggestion. Dani is wearing a puffy jacket that makes her look like the Michelin Man. Jake is humming and dancing, seemingly getting himself psyched up for the night out. Aubrey’s boots crunch the autumn leaves. 

“Oh man, you guys! Just wait ‘til you see these moves for real!” Jake continues his awkward shimmies down the street. 

Dani says, “Well, as long as you don’t bust out those ‘moves’ you learned from the two weeks you were into breakdancing last year.” Aubrey cracks up. 

“Hey, I was getting pretty good until I broke both my ankles doing the coffee grinder!” 

“You also broke two lamps and a window.” 

“Not on the same day, though!” 

They approach the bar as Dani continues to tease Jake. “Well, both lamps were broken on the same morning...” 

“Whatever, Dani! You’re just jealous that you don’t rock this hard!” 

Dani stops short of the entryway to look up at the sign above the door. “The Poplar Pub?” 

“Yeah! ‘Cause, you know, like, trees?” Aubrey said. “Like, the Monongahela forest, or whatever, I think?” 

“Lame!” Jake decrees. “They should have called it something funny. Like the Fores-tree Inn.” 

The girls turn to stare. 

“...Fores-tree? It sounds like _forestry_ and _tree_?” 

“... _Forestry_ is already tree related, Jake,” Dani says slowly as Aubrey giggles. 

“Exactly! It works on so many levels!” 

“It’s not even an inn, moron!” 

“The Fores-tree Café, then, geeze!” Jake swings the door to the pub open. “You just don’t get it.” 

 

As Sylvains, Dani and Jake don’t have IDs. They don’t need to worry getting carded, though; since Aubrey has arrived in Kepler, she has never once been asked to show her ID in this bar. 

The tree-o grabs a booth in the corner. Dani takes off her parka and gloves. Aubrey says, “I’ll re-tree-ve some drinks!” and heads toward the bar, ignoring Dani’s sound of disgust and Jake’s cackles at the pun. 

Dani feels a tap on her shoulder from the booth behind her and Jake. It’s a woman a few years older than them with her own group of friends. She’s smiling. “Hey, I’m Rachel.” 

“Oh, hi,” Dani says, and then turns back around. 

She feels another tap on her shoulder. “Who are you guys? I think I’ve seen you around, but never in here.” 

“I’m Dani, and this is Jake.” She gestures to Jake, who flashes an unwarranted ‘hang ten’ and then continues bopping in his seat to the pop music. “We’ve never been here before, actually.” 

“Oh, welcome! Hey, do you guys want to join us?” Rachel gestures to her booth. Dani sees Aubrey returning from the bar with her arms full of cocktails and a few shots. 

“I think we’re okay, but thanks. Maybe I’ll talk to you later?” 

Aubrey eyes Rachel, who is already turning back to her own booth, as she sits down. “Who’s that?” 

“Why? Are you jea-a-lous?” Jake sing-songs, taking a provocative sip of his mojito. 

Dani rolls her eyes at Jake. “She’s just curious, Jake, God.” 

Aubrey laughs good-naturedly, but she’s blushing. Jake keeps waggling his eyebrows in a way both girls do their best to ignore. 

“Alright,” Aubrey says quickly, “Let’s do this, my comapa-tree-ots!” And she throws back her shot. 

 

Several shots later, Aubrey and Jake are performing a bold karaoke rendition of Telephone by Lady Gaga as Dani watches from the booth. Jake is trying to incorporate his dancing into the performance, and it’s going terribly. He keeps forgetting to sing his lines, attempting a very hip interpretation of the macarena instead. 

While Dani watches delightedly, Rachel pops into the seat across from her. 

“Hey, Dani! I was just about to leave, so...” She slides a piece of paper across the table. It’s her phone number. “That’s my landline, obviously... don’t you hate the quiet zone?” Rachel asks. Then she gets up and walks out of pub with her friends. 

Jake and Aubrey return, sweaty, to the booth. 

“That was tree-mendous!” Jake shouts, loudly enough that a few heads turn. Then he sort of drunkenly dives back into his side of the booth head-first, and rolls back up into a sitting position. 

Aubrey groans as she sits down next to Dani. “Okay, let’s stop with the puns now... Hey, Dani, that girl talked to you again, huh? What did she want?” 

Jake whisper-sings, “ _Jea-a-a-a-lous_...” 

“I just think it’s funny that apparently every woman in Kepler is hitting on Dani tonight!” Aubrey barks, then becomes very interested in her nailbeds. 

“You’re being contraditic-tree!” Jake declares. 

“Shut up, Jake! And that doesn’t even make sense!” 

Jake opens his mouth to push further, but when the door swings open behind Dani and Aubrey, he just gapes instead. Aubrey turns to look at the five Hornets walking into the Poplar Pub. 

“Oh, man, not those guys from the mountain again!” Aubrey grumbles. “Don’t they have some seedy bar on the edge of town? Why can’t they just stay there and not bother everyone else?” 

Jake recovers from his shock and looks at Aubrey. “C’mon, they’re not bad people or whatever. Just... kind of mixed up, is all.” 

Aubrey realizes she has put her foot in her mouth once again. “Oh, Jake, I didn’t mean, like, you! I just don’t like how that one idiot was talking to you. Keith, or whatever?” 

More subtly this time, Aubrey glances at the Hornets. She only recognizes one of them: Keith. He’s not doing anything particularly enraging, just sitting at the bar and laughing with his four friends, so she turns back around to Jake, who seems lost in thought. 

“Well... Keith and I used to be good friends, once. We always had fun. All of us. We’d spend all day on Mount Kepler, eat chili dogs, goof off at the skate park...” 

“Chili dogs? Um, did you used to live in a 90’s teen movie?” Aubrey teases. 

“Look, all I’m saying is that they’re not as bad as they seem,” Jake insists. All three of them jump at the sound of glass shattering. 

“Let’s go,” Dani says quickly, and grabs her coat. 

 

They sit in the Pizza Hut one stumbling, ten-minute walk later. Aubrey pokes dejectedly at her pizza. Jake gazes contemplatively out the window as his order of chili fries congeals into a cold brick. Dani, who apparently cannot hold her liquor, is half-asleep. 

“I’m just wondering who she _was_ , is all,” Aubrey says suddenly. “Like, was she an old friend, a new acquaintance?” 

“What? Who?” Dani is jolted awake. 

“The woman in the bar!” Aubrey says testily. “...I’m just wondering!” 

Jake and Dani stare blankly for a moment, then burst into laughter. 

 

***** 

 

The microwave beeps and Aubrey retrieves a bag of popcorn from inside it. She pours it into a large bowl, grabs a can of soda and splits it between two glasses, then heads back to the lobby of Amnesty Lodge with her arms full. 

Sitting in front of a T.V. is Mama, Jake, Dani, Barclay, and Moira. Jake is wedged between Dani and Mama on an old green couch. Barclay is stretched out on a large recliner. Moira sits daintily in an armchair. 

It’s _Saturday Night Dead_! Jake and Dani have never seen the program before despite Ned’s constant yammering about it, so upon Barclay’s discovery of an old T.V. in a back room he had been cleaning, Aubrey had decided to organize a movie night for the Lodgers. 

Probably due to the identity of the program’s host, the idea hadn’t been a big hit. Only five people beside Aubrey had shown up, and one of those people was her almost-girlfriend, who basically had to show up. Aubrey had been pleasantly surprised to see Mama show up since she was always so busy, but she was even more surprised to see Moira, who hadn’t seemed particularly jazzed about the whole idea when Aubrey had invited her earlier that afternoon. 

Aubrey squeezes herself between Dani and the arm of the couch, then hands Dani her glass of soda. “Popcorn?” 

Dani smiles and takes a handful from Aubrey’s lap. 

“So, Aubrey, what’s this show all about? Y’know, beside endangerin’ the secret mission of the Pine Guard?” Mama asks. 

Ignoring her sarcasm, Aubrey says, “Well, it shows an old monster movie every episode! Let’s see, this one is all about...” 

She turns on the T.V. just in time to hear Ned declare, “Bigfoot!” 

Barclay seems to choke on his own tongue for a moment, and then there is a deadly silence in the room as Ned continues his spiel onscreen. He’s wearing a bedazzled silver suit and glittery makeup. 

“The most terrifying monster of all, ladies and gentlemen! Half man, half ape, does this fearsome beast truly walk among us? That’s for you to decide... In the meantime, let’s enjoy _The Legend of Bigfoot_ from 1972... if you’re brave enough!” 

The silence breaks when Aubrey makes a funny whining noise. She does it again. And then it erupts into full-blown cackles. 

It’s infectious; soon, the whole room beside Barclay and Moira are laughing too, although Aubrey swears she sees a smirk on Moira’s face from across the room in the dark. 

“I’m so sorry, Barclay...” Jake wheezes between giggles. 

The movie doesn’t help. It’s cheesy and low-budget, and the first few minutes are punctuated by more bouts of laughter. 

However, the room quiets down as the film really gets going. Barclay stares at the screen in horrified disbelief. Dani and Aubrey munch quietly on their popcorn with their arms pressed up together. Aubrey’s skin is warm against Dani’s. Moira occasionally interrupts the movie to make snide remarks about it. Mama watches in stony silence, only broken whenever she tells Moira to pipe down. Jake grows more and more tense. Finally, during a poorly-executed jump-scare, he yelps. 

“There’s nothing to be scared of, Jake,” Aubrey teases, “The real Bigfoot is in the room with us.” 

“I’m not scared,” He says quickly, bristling. “I just wasn’t expecting it.” 

Moira stays through the whole movie. At the end, she turns to Barclay, and says, “So, that was about you?” which incites another round of giggles. 

Mama gets to her feet and stretches her hands in the air with a theatrical yawn. “Well, I’m beat. Guess I’m goin’ to bed... Thanks for the night, Aubrey.” 

“Really?” Barclay asks. “You usually aren’t in bed for another few hours.” 

“Lots to do tomorrow. Goodnight, everyone.” 

Everyone wishes Mama goodnight as she saunters up the stairs. A moment later, Moira excuses herself as well and follows Mama out of the room. 

Dani waits a beat, then says, “Well, I guess I’ll-” 

“No way,” Barclay interrupts. “I think you three are going to help me clean up before you head off to bed.” 

“What? For a few lousy Bigfoot jokes?” Aubrey says, but she’s still snickering. 

“You bet. How about you three go do the dishes?” 

This chore assignment turns out to be a mistake. When Barclay checks up on them in the kitchen thirty minutes later, Jake has made himself a soap beard and is in the middle of an admittedly pretty solid Barclay impression. There is a broken dish on the floor. Dani is drawing a cartoon Bigfoot in Sharpie on the kitchen table. 

After confiscating the Sharpie, Barclay says to Dani, “Hey, why don’t you go to bed? These two can... _probably_ handle it themselves.” 

“Hey, no fair!” Jake says. “Why can’t I go to bed? I’m tired!” This noble protest is somewhat undercut by his soap beard, which is now slowly dripping down the collar of his neon pink sweater. Dani sticks her tongue out at Jake from behind Barclay. 

He bounces back from this injustice quickly, though. The moment Dani leaves the room, he says, “Hey, Aubrey. Guess what I saw tonight?” 

Aubrey pretends to think. “Um, well, it couldn’t have been the movie, since you had your eyes closed the whole time...” 

“No, I didn’t! And I was talking about you and Dani holding hands. Pretty cute,” he teases. 

Aubrey blushes and nearly drops another dish. “We were sharing popcorn, not holding hands.” 

“No, you were sharing popcorn, then you ran out of popcorn, _then_ you held hands.” 

“I’m surprised you saw, what with your eyes closed.” 

“Oh my God. I didn’t have my eyes closed! Why would I be scared of some stupid movie? I’m literally a monster, too!” 

“You tell me, coward,” Aubrey teases. 

They finish the rest of the dishes in silence. Aubrey invites Jake to play a game of cards with her, but he refuses and heads on to bed. 

“What about you, Barclay? Up for cards?” Aubrey asks. 

Barclay is sitting at the table. He doesn’t respond. He stares down at the table with a frown on his face. 

“Um, I’m sorry if, you know, things went too far tonight...” Aubrey begins, but Barclay cuts her off. 

“Oh, that’s not it, Aubrey. Actually, I was wondering – is Jake alright?” 

“Uh, what do you mean? I was just teasing him a bit.” 

“No, I mean lately. Has he seemed a little down to you?” Barclay is looking Aubrey in the eye. 

“I’m... not sure? I don’t know, you know him better than I do,” Aubrey says uncomfortably. 

“Okay. Never mind, Aubrey, it’s not a big deal.” Barclay gets up. “Goodnight.” 

“Um, goodnight?” 

 

Dani awakens to the sound of her door opening. She feels Jake slip into the bed. He’s quiet for a minute, then says, “Are you awake?” 

“Yeah. What’s up?” Dani asks. 

“Promise not to laugh.” 

“I promise. Did you actually get freaked out by that movie, or...?” 

“Well, I guess all the fake blood kind of got to me. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” 

“Okay?” 

Jake takes a beat. “Um, do you think Aubrey likes me?” 

“What?” 

“I know she wasn’t, like, my biggest fan or whatever when she first came to Kepler. And I thought that had changed. But now … I don’t know, am I just being self-conscious?” 

Dani turns to look at him. “She definitely likes you, Jake. Don’t doubt yourself, okay?” 

“She doesn’t think I’m, like, annoying, or something?” 

“That doesn’t sound like you,” Dani says sarcastically. When he doesn’t laugh, she bumps his shoulder. 

“I guess it’s just been hard to put myself out there, lately.” His voice is shaky. 

“It’s okay to be nervous, Jake. I think you’ve just been a little fragile since … you know.” 

“Since I lost all my friends?” 

“That was the right thing to do. I’m glad you stopped hanging out with them before things escalated.” 

“I know. That doesn’t mean it isn’t hard, though,” Jake whispers. 

“Yeah,” Dani whispers back. She can’t think of anything else to say. 

Jake doesn’t respond. She’s asleep a few minutes later, but he’s still wide awake, staring out the window at the moon. 

 

***** 

 

Aubrey and Jake are playing with Dr. Harris Bonkers, P.H.D. in the lobby one morning when the Lodge’s phone rings. 

Aubrey gets up and shuffles over to the phone. When she answers it, she hears Ned’s voice on the other end. 

“Hey, Ned, what’s going on?” 

“Why, good morning, Miss Little! Tis I, Ned Chicane, with a special treat for you and two friends! What would you say to a grand night of dazzling - and _terrifying_ \- entertainment, mouth-watering _hors d’oeuvres_ , and the opportunity to bask in the presence of regional television’s biggest celebrities, all for the price of a few hours’ honest work?” 

Aubrey has tuned out by the word “dazzling.” “Are you asking me to help with the _Saturday Night Dead_ set again, Ned? Because you have to actually pay me this time.” 

“You wound me, friend Aubrey! My indefatigable assistant, Kirby, spent painstaking hours preparing for you and me a marvelous spread of _aperitif_ after the last time you assisted us!” 

“It was Ritz crackers, grapes, and vodka, Ned.” 

Ned drops the act. “Look, Aubrey, I’m short-staffed and I could use an extra few pairs of hands. You, Dani, and Jake come over to help and I’ll make sure there’s actual food here this time. Plus, you’ll get to see my marvelous show in person, and _live_ , too!” 

Aubrey sighs and holds the receiver against her chest. “Hey, Jake,” she calls. “Wanna go over to Ned’s later?” 

“Fine,” he calls back, not taking his eyes off Dr. Harris Bonkers, P.H.D. 

“Fine,” Aubrey repeats back to Ned. 

“Wonderful! Miss Little, you and your compatriots are in for a spectacularly spooky night! Come see _Saturday Night Dead_ , if you _da-a-a-a-re_ -” 

Aubrey hangs the phone up. 

 

When the trio arrives at the Cryptonomica, things have already gotten underway. The stage has been set up already, undoubtedly by Kirby, who struggles with the microphone in the corner. Ned is busy eating grapes and going over his lines. 

“See, Jake? There’s nothing to fear! It’s just a set!” Aubrey teases. He laughs awkwardly and scratches his arm, then becomes very preoccupied with studying the deer antlers mounted on the wall beside him. 

Ned notices them and comes over. “Good evening, plucky teens! Do we ever have a night planned for you three!” 

“Weird. What should we start with?” Aubrey asks. Ned points her to a box of decorations. 

As she and Dani start to set up (Jake is busy bothering Ned with incessant, _SND_ -related questions), Dani says, “Hey, Aubrey, could you take it easy on Jake today?” 

“What? What do you mean?” Aubrey tries to look up at her, but she’s gotten her legs tangled in fairy lights. 

Dani studies the plastic skull in her hand. “He’s just been … tender, lately, okay?” She says carefully. 

“Is everything alright?” Aubrey has freed herself from the lights, but in doing so she’s stepped on a fake eyeball, exploding it on the ground. 

Dani hands her a roll of paper towel. “Yeah, he’s fine! Don’t tell him about this conversation, okay? I’m just looking out for him.” 

“Uh, okay. Hey, can you help me put up these lights?” 

Dani smiles. “Sure.” 

 

An hour later, Dani, Aubrey, Jake, and Kirby stand by as Ned performs his theatrics on stage. Kirby is busy trying to keep Ned on track and family-friendly (Ned is currently on a long-winded tangent about the time he claims to have smoked weed with Celine Dion, much to Kirby’s horror), so the other three are left to enjoy the show and poke around the store. Aubrey is losing all her pocket change on a cryptid-themed claw game in the corner. Jake is perusing a pamphlet entitled “How to tell if YOUR child is a werewolf” featuring a grisly drawing of a hairy teenaged boy eating his parents on the cover. Dani is busy reading a flyer posted on the bulletin board in the corner. 

“Hey, Dani!” Aubrey whisper-shouts as she walks over to the bulletin board. “Look!” She proudly presents Dani with a tiny plush Nessie. 

Dani’s face is red. She accepts the gift, tucking it into her coat pocket, then quickly changes the subject. “Thanks, Aubrey … Hey, look what I found.” She hands Aubrey the flyer. It’s advertising an art contest. 

“’Held by Kepler’s Fine Arts Council.’ What does Kepler’s Art Council look like? Three people who meet in the rec centre twice a year?” Aubrey laughs. 

“Probably. It’s dumb,” Dani says and snatches the flyer back. 

Aubrey frowns. “Wait, were you thinking of submitting some of your art?” When Dani doesn’t reply, Aubrey says, “You should! Dani, you’d totally win! You’re probably the best artist in this whole town!” 

Dani hesitates. Aubrey bumps her shoulder, making her giggle. “Okay, fine, I’ll take the flyer. Just to mull it over a bit.” 

Aubrey cheers, probably a little too loud for a studio audience, and Dani ducks her head to hide her smile. 

 

After stuffing themselves full of grapes, wine, stale crackers, and the one small cheese pizza Ned had ordered after Aubrey yelled at him, the trio is ready to head home. Ned is busy “unwinding” (drinking the rest of the wine), but Kirby walks them out of the Cryptonomica and up the road to the main street. 

“So, you guys all live at the Lodge?” Kirby asks Jake incredulously. “Like in the _Suite Life of Zack and Cody_?” 

“What’s that?” Jake asks at the same time Aubrey says, “Exactly.” 

“Oh, okay,” Kirby says, after they fail to elaborate. “So, where are you guys all from?” 

“Uh,” Jake says, “I’m from … Minnechussets -” 

“ _Massachusetts_ ,” Aubrey hisses. 

“Massachusetts, and so is Dani, because she’s, um, my sister? We moved here for, uh, the snowboarding, we were so sick of the desert, so...” 

Luckily, Kirby’s further attempts at conversation is interrupted. Unluckily, the interruption is the sound of half a dozen motorcycles. 

Kirby waves down the Hornets. As Dani, Jake, and Aubrey look on in horror, Kirby says, “Oh, hey, it’s Bevin! I know him! Hey, Bevin!” 

The Hornets pull over beside the four of them. One of them, a frankly massive dude wearing a black windbreaker and a pair of jeans, pulls off his helmet. He’s smiling. 

“Hey, man! How’s it going? Do you and your friends need a ride?” 

“Uh, maybe?” Kirby turns back to the trio. “Bevin and I live in the same building. Do you guys want a lift back to your, um, hotel-house?” 

Before Aubrey or Dani can answer, Bevin notices Jake, who is currently trying to hide behind Aubrey in vain. 

“Oh … Hey, Jake.” Bevin looks distinctly awkward. “You’re a ways away from the Lodge, we could give you a ride, if you wanted? Uh, right, guys?” The Hornets behind him all nod, except for one. 

The dissenting Hornet takes off his helmet. It’s Keith. He leans over to Bevin, and says, quietly, “I don’t wanna do this, man … let’s just get outta here, okay?” 

“Hey,” Aubrey says loudly. “What is your problem?” Jake groans behind her. 

Keith turns to look at her. “Excuse me?” 

“What did Jake ever do to you except not join your dumb little club?” Aubrey asks. 

“Oh, he didn’t do anything to _me_ , not that it’s any of your business,” Keith sneers. “Hey, Jake, seen Hollis lately?” When Jake just avoids his gaze, he hops back onto his bike and rides away. 

Bevin sighs. “Uh, I think we’ll just be heading out, then. See you, Kirby.” Then he and the other Hornets follow Keith down the street, motorcycles droning in the quiet of the night. 

There’s an awkward beat. Then Kirby says, “Uh, well, have a nice night, then...” And walks quickly back inside. 

When Kirby is out of earshot, Aubrey says, “Ugh! I can’t stand that Keith guy. What was he even talking about before he ran away?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jake snaps. 

“But-” Aubrey starts. Dani tugs on her sleeve and shakes her head no. 

Aubrey drops it, and together the three of them walk home together in silence. 


	2. Chapter 2

Aubrey and Dani sit in Aubrey’s room. The window is open just a crack despite the cold weather, and the sounds of people hanging out in the hot springs, combined with the song of the wind chimes on the porch below Aubrey’s room, provide pleasant background noise. There’s incense burning on the windowsill.

Despite the pleasant atmosphere, Dani is anything but relaxed. She’s trying to sketch out some concepts for her art submission, and every few seconds Aubrey sees her aggressively scratch something out in her sketchbook and start over on a new page. Jake isn’t helping.

Since her arrival at Amnesty Lodge about two and a half months earlier, Aubrey has grown as used to the occasional Jake-Dani fight as the rest of the guests. It’s almost kind of sweet, in a way, to see the two bickering like siblings, and, honestly, it’s pretty funny to see the unflappable Dani get worked up a bit, too, not that Aubrey would ever admit it.

However, this morning is different. They’ve been arguing since breakfast, and the ridiculous jabs and insults have grown less and less entertaining for the other guests. Barclay had come upstairs twenty minutes earlier to tell them to stop, but it didn’t seem to help much. Aubrey is certain that she is the only one left on the second floor with them at this point.

As far as she can tell, the fight began over the breakfast table when Jake, in the middle of telling a story with enthusiastic hand gestures, had accidentally knocked over a pitcher of syrup, spilling it onto the sketchbook a frazzled Dani had been trying to draw in at the time. Things had escalated when Dani, extremely stressed out, had poured her glass of milk onto Jake’s waffles in retaliation. This had sparked Jake’s counterattack, in which he dumped his orange juice in her lap. Breakfast had quickly ended with Dani rubbing her scrambled eggs in his hair.

Right now, Dani seems to have changed her strategy and is now just pretending to ignore Jake, which is never a great idea, while she tries to sketch. Aubrey sits on her bed, stroking Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD as Jake sings off-key in his room next to hers. Dani growls in frustration as he wails Shakira louder and louder.

“HEY, DANI!” Jake yells through the wall after he finishes Hips Don’t Lie. “ANY REQUESTS?”

Apparently, this is her breaking point, because she jumps up from the bed beside Aubrey and runs into Jake’s room. Aubrey winces as she hears Dani say, “Shut up, you little turd!”

“You shut up! I can do whatever I want in my own room!” Then he says, “Ow, Dani!” And Aubrey is certain she’s pinched him.

When Dani comes back into the room, she says, “Okay, hopefully that’ll shut him up,” and Aubrey smiles in what she hopes is a placating way.

Jake appears in the doorway. “ _Whenever, wherever_ ,” he starts, and Dani lets out a guttural scream. “ _We're meant to be together! I'll be there and you'll be nea_ -” Jake shuts up and starts to run back to his room when Dani gets back up again.

“I said SHUT UP!” Dani shrieks at the top of her lungs.

 _“And that's the deal my dear! Here o_ -” Aubrey hears Dani slam his door shut.

When she re-appears in Aubrey’s room, she slams her door shut too. Her eyes are ringed red with frustrated tears. Aubrey can vaguely hear Barclay shouting at them to quiet down from the lobby. Dani takes few calming breaths. Aubrey rubs her back.

“Hey,” Aubrey says, “He’s just pissed off too. Want to go outside? We could go to the hot springs?”

“No!” Dani snaps, then rubs her temples. “Sorry, sorry. No, thanks, Aubrey, I know you’re just trying to help, but I just really need to work on this piece for the contest right now.”

“Well, what if we walked over to the Steam Room? That coffee shop like ten minutes away? You could work on it there...”

Dani sighs, then smiles shakily at Aubrey. “Okay.” Then she turns toward the wall and shouts, “AS LONG AS WE DON’T INVITE JAKE!”

Aubrey falls back onto her pillow and groans.

 

A few minutes later, the girls are ready to go. Dani has her art stuff in a messenger bag. Aubrey has fed Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD and tucked him in for a nap. She has her wallet with her, because Dani definitely needs a cup of chamomile or something to calm down. As they step out of Aubrey’s room, Jake opens his door just a crack.

She hears Dani suck in a sharp breath, then she says, “What, Jake?” Jake won’t even look in Dani’s direction.

“You two go out on your dumb little date, Aubrey,” he says nastily, “I didn’t want to hang out with Dani anyway. I don’t know how you deal with her.”

Dani whips around and says, “You think I’m annoying? At least I have friends that don’t hate me!” Then she gasps and covers her mouth with her hands.

Jake closes the door to his room quietly.

Aubrey turns to gape at Dani, who is staring at the door to Jake’s room.

“Oh, God, I’m sorry, Jake, I didn’t mean that-” Dani starts, but Aubrey wraps an arm around her back and guides her down the stairs.

“Okay, let’s just give him some time to cool off,” Aubrey says quietly. “It’s okay, let’s just go for a walk or something, alright? Forget the coffee shop.”

 

“He’s been going through some stuff, lately... I can’t believe I said that … What is wrong with me, oh, my _God_ ,” Dani moans as they walk the dirt path up the road. “I’m the worst.”

“You’re just really stressed out,” Aubrey says. “Look, you can apologize later. Just forget about the contest for a while and calm down.”

After a few minutes of silent walking, Aubrey said, “Were you talking about the Hornets? When you said Jake’s friends hate him?”

“Uh, yeah, sort of,” Dani admits. She stops to lean beside a fence, staring off into the trees. “It was a pretty rough split, when he left. Keith still resents him for leaving Hollis in the lurch, I think - Jake was originally their second-in-command before he left suddenly and Keith had to replace him. And Jake … well, he was really, uh, close with Keith, and he was close with Hollis, too, and I don’t think they and Jake have really spoken since he announced he was leaving … it just really messed with him. I think he’s pretty lonely and guilty.”

“Hollis? From Mount Kepler?” 

“Yeah. Losing Hollis was hard for him – they were Jake’s first Kepler friend beside me, they were really close.”

“So … Hollis and Jake haven’t spoken at all?”

“Well, Hollis isn’t all shitty about it like Keith, but they still haven’t had, like, a real conversation, you know? Jake basically lost all contact with the Hornets. I don’t think Jake would want me to say much more,” Dani says, then starts walking again. “Shit, I _really_ need to talk to him. I’m such an asshole.”

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Aubrey says, “Siblings fight.”

Dani stops in her tracks. She looks at Aubrey with a small smile. “Siblings?”

“Yeah, come on. You two are basically like brother and sister, right?”

That seems to cheer her up a bit. “You’re right.”

“Of course, I am! Now, come on, let’s head back.” Together, Aubrey and Dani walk back down the road to Amnesty Lodge.

 

When Dani knocks on the door to Jake’s room, she gets no answer. She opens the door a bit. He’s on his bed, looking through an old photo album labelled _Kepler Stunt Club 2016_.

“Hey, Jake … I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now. I just wanted to say I’m really, really sorry for what I said. Just … I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Dani,” Jake says. His voice is hoarse. “I’m not mad at you anymore. It was just stupid fight.” He flips a page of the photo album.

Dani cautiously walks over to his bed. When he doesn’t react, she sits on the edge.

“It _was_ a stupid fight. That’s why it was so crappy of me to go over the line like that. I don’t even know how things escalated so quickly.”

Jake nods. Then he says, “I’m sorry too … I guess I just haven’t felt like myself lately.” Dani sits properly against the headboard beside him and listens. “Why is it getting harder? Shouldn’t time make things, like, hurt less instead? Not tubular.” He tosses the photo album onto the floor.

“I don’t know. Maybe because you don’t have closure with them?”

“I guess so. I’m just … lonely, you know? And it’s scary to try to make new friends after you lose all your old ones at once.”

“Well, you’re friends with Aubrey, now, right?” Dani squeezes his hand for a second.

“Yeah. I get so, like, awkward around her these days, though. I hate it.”

“She’s cool. You want to impress her. I get it.”

Jake smiles a bit and waggles his eyebrows, but he doesn’t meet her eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure you do want to impress her.”

Dani shoves him. “Hey!” They both laugh. “But seriously, though. I’m sorry you feel lonely. I feel lonely too, sometimes. Especially when I’m missing Sylvain.”

Jake nods. “Same. And, like, I guess I just felt important in the Kepler Stunt Club, you know? Like I was contributing to something. But now … Mama won’t even let me join the Pine Guard. That last abomination getting the drop on me in the hot springs probably didn’t help my chances, either.”

“You don’t need to prove yourself, Jake. We all want you around, okay? And we do have friends. And we have family. Here, at Amnesty Lodge, right? Plus, we’ve got each other.”

Jake looks at her and flashes a wobbly smile. “Yeah?”

“Yeah! We’ve got each other’s backs, right? Even after we say shitty stuff to each other?”

Jake nods. “Definitely, dude.”

Dani hesitates for a moment, then admits, “You know, you remind me of my little brother. He’s in Sylvain, obviously, but … you’re both little turds sometimes.”

“Hey!” Jake interjects, but he’s still smiling.

“It’s true!” Dani giggles. “And you’re both kind-hearted and kind of sensitive … and I love you both. Very much. Um,” and she crosses her arms self-consciously. “So.”

She’s not surprised but she is relieved when Jake hugs her. Against her neck, Jake whispers, “I love you too, man.”

 

Mama sits in her office late that evening. She’s sipping a cup of tea. Her recovering ribs ache still. It’s only November, but her mind is already on December’s abomination, not to mention the feral best friend she has trapped in the cellar. She wonders if this will finally be the year to do the Pine Guard in.

There’s a rap on her door, and Dani peeks her blonde head through. “Hey, Mama, you busy?”

Mama smiles and says, “Actually, I welcome the distraction. What’s goin’ on?”

Dani sits on the guest chair on the other side of Mama’s desk. "Uh, I was actually wanting to talk about Jake?”

“Oh, yeah? How’s that kid doin’? I heard he got knocked around pretty good by that last abomination.”

“Well,” Dani says, “He was okay! He pretty much dealt with the hot springs incident on his own, it was, uh, impressive...”

Mama eyes her. “I heard he nearly drowned.”

“Right, well, it was a good learning experience … for him ... ”

“What did you want to talk about, Dani?”

“Look …” Dani sighs. “I know you don’t want Jake or me to join the Pine Guard, and I get it. You’re just trying to keep us safe. But isn’t there _anything_ Jake can do for you guys? Away from any danger?”

“You come close to an abomination, there’s gonna be danger, Dani,” Mama says, looking incredulous.

“No, I know, but … I just think Jake needs something to do, you know? And he wants to help you out so badly, Mama. Please.” Dani stares at Mama with puppy-dog eyes. Mama is quiet for a long moment.

“If,” she begins finally, “ _If_ , there is _ever_ somethin’ Jake is suited for, and it's totally safe, I will let him tag along. For a one-time deal. Alright?”

“Thank you, Mama. That’s all I’m asking for,” Dani says happily, getting up from her chair.

As she moves to the door, Mama clears her throat. “Hey, Dani. I just wanted to say … uh, how’s it goin’? With stuff in your, uh, life? And with Aubrey?” She won’t look Dani in the eye.

“Uh, it’s going pretty okay, actually.”

“Oh, good. That’s real good, Dani. I'm glad you're good.”

“Thanks, Mama." They share a smile. "So, did you want to talk more about my love life, Mama, or-” Dani starts with a smirk.

“Alright, alright,” Mama interrupts, “That’s enough of that, geeze-”

“Maybe we should make some popcorn and dish?” Dani suggests innocently.

“Ha-ha, now get out, Dani-”

“Goodnight, Mama,” Dani says, and walks out of Mama’s office, shutting the door gently behind her.

 

*****

 

Dani and Aubrey sit in the hot springs. It’s a nice, clear day. It’s cold out, but the water steams up around them pleasantly. Aubrey dreads the walk back inside wrapped in just a bathing suit and a towel, but for now, she’s nice and warm.

"So, how’s the contest submission coming along?” Aubrey asks cautiously.

To her surprise, Dani smiles at the mention of the art contest. “Better, actually! I’ve, uh, decided on a subject, so now I just need to nail down the basic details and I can start the actual painting.”

“So it’s a painting? Can I see the sketches for it?”

“I told you, I’m not showing anyone!” Dani sounds defensive, but she’s grinning. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Why, though?” Aubrey presses. “I’ve seen your other pieces!”

“This one is important! It’s going to be judged by professionals, you know! … I guess I just don’t want to jinx it.”

Aubrey giggles. “Fine, fine. Calm down, okay? You’re going to do great!”

“I don’t know … the Kepler art scene is bigger than you know, Aubrey. I heard _Bob Smith_ is submitting a piece. _Bob Smith_.”

“He sounds like a big deal,” Aubrey agrees sarcastically. “They have some of his stuff hanging at the Met right now, right?”

When Dani just glares in response, Aubrey says, “Look, you just need to take your mind off things. It’s not even due for another three months. Hey, uh, let’s go out tonight and do something fun!”

“Like what?”

Aubrey pretends to mull it over for a second, then says, “Oh! I heard the putt-putt place on Riverside is pretty fun … what if we went there?”

Dani looks at her with a small smile. “Kepler Mini-Putt? Isn’t that place, like …” She trails off, but Aubrey knows what she means; Kepler Mini-Putt is the premier spot for dates among Kepler’s discerning adolescents and young adults. Dani’s face is flushed, but it might just be from the steam.

“Well,” Aubrey says quickly, “Jake is coming, too, obviously!”

Dani deflates a bit, but it could just be Aubrey’s imagination. She musters a little enthusiasm and says, “Right, okay. Uh, that sounds fun. Let’s do it!”

“Yeah!” Aubrey agrees lamely. They sit in awkward silence after that.

 

“So,” Jake begins, “You asked her on a date, then immediately chickened out thirty seconds later?”

Aubrey groans with her head against the table. They’re eating lunch courtesy of Barclay in the kitchen. Dani is in her room, working on her piece.

“Look, now is not the time for judgement. You’re free, right? You can come with us?” Jake waggles his eyebrows in that infuriating way. 

“I mean, I could. Or, I could remember that I’m busy and dip at the last second and leave you two _al-o-o-ne_ … Then it’s a date because it’s just the two of you, but you still have plausible deniability if it goes badly. Which it won't!”

Aubrey lifts her head to look at him. “Jake, yes, you beautiful little man! You would do that?”

“Of course!” Jake laughs. “I mean, I love mini-golf, but once you two start dating for real, I can make fun of you way more. Plus,” He adds, more seriously, “You two are great together and I want Dani – and you! – to be happy, so...”

Aubrey is delighted. She pulls him into a sitting side-hug, which he gladly returns. “Thanks, man. I don’t want you to feel like I’m uninviting you, tonight...”

“No, it’s fine!” Jake says quickly, pulling out of the hug. He’s smiling. “I don’t really want to watch you two smooching all night, anyway!”

“Who says there’ll be smooching?” Aubrey protests, but her heart races at the thought. Jake throws her a ridiculous, exaggerated wink, and she laughs.

They finish their lunches with smiles on their faces. Things have felt uncomfortable between them for the last few weeks, but not anymore.

 

When Dani and Aubrey arrive at the Kepler Mini-Putt, Aubrey is bouncing with nerves. They’ve borrowed Mama’s truck for the evening. Aubrey parks, then races to the other side to open Dani’s door, who is already stepping out of the vehicle.

“What are you doing?” Dani asks when Aubrey awkwardly goes to shut the door.

“Oh, uh, I’m just super excited to play some mini-golf!” Aubrey says as they make their way to the entrance.

“Do you play a lot? Sometimes the whole Lodge comes here and plays together, but we haven’t done that since summer,” Dani says. She isn't bundled up in winter wear as usual; tonight, she's just in a flattering wool sweater that Aubrey has never seen before overtop her least paint-and-grass-stained jeans. She's shivering a bit, though. Aubrey would offer her her own coat, if she wasn't already kind of embarrassed about the thing with the car door, and if she wasn't just in her vest.

“Uh, I’ve only played once or twice in my life,” Aubrey admits.

“Well, I look forward to kicking your ass,” Dani says, and they laugh.

 

As it turns out, Aubrey is horrible at putt-putt. They’re the only ones on the course except for an extremely bored employee at the front entrance, so Aubrey uses her wind magic to blow the golf ball in certain directions until Dani catches her.

“Do you need some pointers, maybe?” Dani teases in that monotone, innocent way of hers after Aubrey spends twenty minutes on hole three. She's leaning nonchalantly against her golf club.  "Just so we can get home before tomorrow morning?"

“Honestly, yes, if you’re offering,” Aubrey says with a laugh.

Dani wraps her arms around Aubrey, who almost jumps out of her skin.

Dani puts her hands over Aubrey’s on the club, and says, “Okay, lower your grip a bit. When you swing, don’t put so much power into it. It’s a finesse thing, not a strength thing.”

Smoothly, Aubrey says, “Uh, um,” and lets Dani continue the lesson without complaint.

After a few more minutes, Aubrey has gotten the hang of things, but Dani still helps her with the grip on each swing.

“Yes!” Aubrey whoops as she finishes hole nine. She turns to look at Dani excitedly. They're closer together than she'd thought. Dani's arms are still wrapped around her. The red neon lights of the course reflect off her blonde hair. Dani seems dazed. She's looking right into Aubrey's eyes. Aubrey can smell lavender incense off her sweater.

“You’re so pretty,” Dani whispers.

Aubrey knows they’re thinking the same thing. “Uh,” Aubrey starts, “Uh, can I, like…”

“Uh, yeah,” Dani says, and Aubrey carefully presses her lips to Dani’s.

The whole thing lasts about three seconds. After, Dani shakily takes her turn, playing perhaps a little worse than she has the rest of the night, and they walk back to the entrance to return their clubs and golf balls to the apathetic attendant.

The drive home is mostly quiet. A few minutes in, Dani rests her hand over Aubrey’s on the gearshift, much in the way she had rested it over Aubrey’s on the club.

“I didn’t really want to stop doing that,” Dani admits.

“Me neither,” Aubrey says.

They keep holding hands on their walk up to the Lodge door from the truck. When they reach the front steps, Aubrey stops and faces Dani.

“Hey, Dani,” she says, “You’re going to do really well in that art contest. I just know it.”

Dani says, “I’m not too worried about that right now,” and kisses Aubrey again, but this time it lasts a few minutes. Dani's lips are chapped against Aubrey's soft mouth.

Dizzied, Aubrey opens the Lodge door. Thankfully, nobody is in the lobby, because Aubrey is sure that both their faces are red. They climb the stairs to their rooms. Aubrey’s is down the hall to the left, next to Jake’s. Dani’s is to the right, but Aubrey realizes that they’re walking in the same direction - they’ve both arrived at Jake’s door to tell him about tonight.

Embarrassed, Aubrey says, “Uh, goodnight!” And hurries back to her own room.

She hears Dani say, “Goodnight,” right before she shuts her door.

 

Dani cracks open Jake’s door. He’s sitting on his bed with headphones in, but upon seeing her, he quickly yanks them out and says, “So, how did it go?”

Dani collapses on his bed face-first and releases a deep sigh. After a minute, she mumbles, “ _Amazing_.”

Jake laughs and pats her back.

She lifts her head to look at him and says, “I’m sorry you couldn’t tag along, though.” 

Yeah,” Jake says, “Uh, lots to do, so…” He won't meet her eyes.

Dani smiles at him. “Thanks, Jake. I appreciate you hanging back.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Jake tries to look offended, but his frown quickly melts into a sly grin. “I’m glad you two had an _amazing_ night, though…”

Dani groans at his tone and slides off the bed. “What happened on your _amazing_ night, Dani? Was there … perhaps … some smooching?”

Dani hurries to the door. “I’m ignoring you, Jake!”

“I hope you enjoyed your _amazing_ smooches!” He calls after her.

 

When Dani returns to her room, she washes her face (with ice-cold water), brushes her teeth, changes into her pyjamas, does some deep breathing, and takes out her sketchbook. She settles on her bed and opens the sketchbook to the most recent page. She’s full of fresh inspiration for her project.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s mid-January. Things have only gotten tenser at Amnesty Lodge. Aubrey and Dani haven’t spent a lot of time together, lately. While Aubrey grew used to seeing a new eye colour in the mirror and tried to prevent abomination-induced disasters, Dani feverishly painted in her room alone. Jake is a bit shaken, after his ‘safe’ foray into the Pine Guard had ended with the destruction of Leo’s General Store and nearly Ned’s death. Overall, the gang is stressed out and more than a little anxious.

  
Aubrey sits in the lobby with Jake and Dani. Jake is sitting in an armchair eating a bowl of soup, even though Barclay has told him repeatedly not to eat anything messy on the furniture. Aubrey can see a few fresh little brown stains on the fabric where Jake has spilled some of his lunch. Dani is taking a well-deserved break – she had submitted her painting for the contest a week earlier and has only now stopped panicking about it. Aubrey has her legs thrown over the arm of the couch with her head in Dani’s lap. Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD rests on Aubrey’s chest. She pets him as Dani absently strokes her hair. Moira runs warm-up scales on the piano. Agent Stern sips a cup of tea and reads the newspaper at the table ten feet away.

  
The door to the Lodge swings open as Mama walks in, holding a toolbox and a to-go cup of coffee. She’s got her hair tied back. She’s wearing a light coat instead of her unwieldy duster, and a pair of work boots.

  
“Afternoon,” she says gruffly to Stern, and nods politely in Moira’s direction. She heads toward her office, but Jake calls out to her.

  
“Hey, Mama! Where ya been?” He turns to face her, spilling more soup in the process.

  
“Just helpin’ a neighbour. She needed her fence fixed, and I could finally do it properly with most of the snow gone,” Mama says. She sips her coffee.

  
“Cute,” Jake giggles. Mama goes a bit red.

  
“Oh, that’s so sweet, Mama,” Dani says nonchalantly, but there’s an evil glint in her eye. “Did she send you off with a drink?”

  
“Made with _love_?” Jake adds gleefully.

  
“Alright, alright,” Mama grumbles, “That’s enough. Just go back to playin’ with your rabbit or whatever.” Jake is still giggling.

  
“His name-” Aubrey starts, but Mama interrupts her.

  
“Is Dr. Harris Bonkers, I know, Aubrey, okay-”

  
“PhD,” Aubrey reminds her. “Don’t disrespect him, Mama!”

  
“How about you don’t disrespect the lady lettin’ you live here for free,” Mama says, but Jake has begun making kissing noises, so she quickly retreats to her office.

  
“What was that about?” Aubrey asks.

  
“She was over at the Steam Room Café,” Jake says.

  
“So what?”

  
“Well, have you met the owner?” Dani asks. “Elizabeth?”

  
“Uh, no?”

  
“Well, she’s this really, uh, beautiful woman,” Dani starts. She’s a little red herself. “We think Mama has a crush on her.”

  
“We _know_ Mama has a crush on her. We _think_ Elizabeth likes her back,” Jake explains.

  
“Oh, dang, that _is_ cute!” Aubrey says. Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD startles as Moira slams the piano lid loudly and flounces out of the room.

  
“We should try to get them together!” Jake declares, jumping out of his seat. His bowl of soup falls facedown on the plush carpet. Stern eyes him judgementally from the table. “Uh-oh… Do you guys think Barclay will notice?” There’s dark brown liquid rapidly seeping out around the sides of the upturned bowl.

  
“Jake, we’re trying to get Mama a girlfriend, not ruin her chances with this woman.” Dani watches as Jake tries to scoop the soup back into his bowl. “So let’s just stay out of it, okay?”

  
“Hey!” Aubrey says. “What if we threw a little party or something? We could all use it! Plus, we’ll invite Elizabeth and try to set them up!”

  
Dani groans, but Jake perks up. He’s clearly deemed the carpet a lost cause, because he carefully lays a blanket over the mess and places the bowl on the table next to Stern.

  
“That’s a great idea! We’ll throw a rager!”

  
“Well, I was just thinking of an intimate gathering,” Aubrey says.

  
“Lame! Rager!”

  
“Jake, how are we gonna push Mama and Elizabeth together with a bunch of people around, drunk, in a loud room?”

  
“Rager!” Jake bellows. Stern gets up and carries his newspaper and tea out of the room.

  
“It sounds fun, but it would be counter-int-” Aubrey protests.

  
“Rager! Rager!”

  
“I’m just saying,” Aubrey continues, but Jake has begun doing strange, karate-like movements in time with his chanting.

  
“Rager! Rager! Rager!” Dani dodges as he kicks his legs out with each word.

  
Aubrey can’t help but laugh. “Okay, fine! Rager! Rager! Rager! Get in on this, Dani!”

  
Barely heard over the chanting, Dani says, “I’ll come, as long as I don’t have to help Mama with her love life.”

  
“Nice!” Jake says. “Let’s just forget that part of the plan.”

  
“Wait, so we’re just … throwing a party, then?” Aubrey confirms. “If that’s the case, I’ll get word around!”

  
“Hell yeah!” Jake says. “I’ll buy, like, chips, and stuff! But I’ll need some money.”

  
“Sweet. Dani, you’re gonna need to convince Mama to let us.”

  
Dani rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Mama will be the easy part. I’ll try to convince _Barclay_. And break the news gently about the carpet,” she says.

  
“And try to get access to the booze in the kitchen bar,” Aubrey adds. Dani nods.

  
“Oh, yeah, man!” Jake howls. “Party time!”

  
  
Dani knocks on Mama’s office door. From inside, she hears, “Enter.”

  
When she walks in, Mama says, “Oh, no, Dani, no way. Jake is done, he got in way too deep, you hear me?”

  
“Uh, what?”

  
“Aren’t you here to ask me to put him back on the front lines again? Because I’ll tell you, after what happened with that Pizza Hut sign-”

  
“I’m not here about Jake!” Dani says quickly. “I was actually here to invite you to a party.”

  
Mama raises her eyebrow, but she’s smiling a little bit. “Oh, really? And where is this party bein’ thrown? My hotel, perhaps?”

  
Dani tries to look contrite, but she’s smiling too. “We’ll stick to the lobby so none of the visitors see anything! And we’re all really stressed out, and-” Mama hold ups a hand.

  
“Fine. Just keep it down, alright?”

  
“You aren’t coming?”

  
“I’m a little busy, Dani. Last month a sinkhole opened up in Kepler. I don’t have time for a party.”

  
“Come on, Mama! You should at least stop by! Jake and Aubrey and I are putting in so much work!” She pouts.

  
Mama softens a bit and says, “Well, seein’ as how you’re throwin’ the damn thing in my house, I might, uh, make an appearance. Alright?”

  
“I’ll see you there at ten!” Dani says happily and walks out of the office. Mama tries to be annoyed, but she just shakes her head and laughs instead.

 

 

On her way out of the office, Dani hears Barclay yell in the lobby. “Oh, what the hell?”

  
“Shit,” she mutters.

  
Barclay is holding a soup-crusted blanket, now cold, away from a brown sludge congealed on the carpet underneath. When he sees her, he says, “Dani, was this Jake? I told him not to eat away from the table anymore!”

  
“I don’t think so,” Dani lies. “I saw Agent Stern out here earlier, though.”

  
Barclay sighs and balls up the blanket in his arms. “Well, I need to deal with this stain before it gets any worse. Can you put this in the laundry for me?”

  
“Uh, sure.” She takes the blanket out of his arms. “Hey, I thought I should let you know that there’s a party happening tonight. We’d love to have you there.”

  
“A party?” He’s inspecting the stain with malice in his eyes.

  
“Yeah! I think a whole bunch of people are coming.”

  
Barclay whips his head up to look at her. “ _Here_? People are coming _here_?”

  
“Yeah?”

  
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Dani, don’t you think that might be a bad idea? Inviting people back to the Lodge like that? What if something happens? What if someone sees something they shouldn’t?”

  
“Well, when Mama and I were planning it she suggested everyone stay in the lobby.”

  
“Mama signed off on this?” Barclay sighs again. “God. Okay. Just, please, for the love of Christ, Dani, keep it small, okay?”

 

“Of course,” Dani assures him quickly. “By the way, can I have the key to the liquor cabinet?”

  
Barclay sits down in the chair.

  
  
Leo’s General Store isn’t quite ready to re-open yet, so Jake makes his way over to the convenience store on the other side of town. It’s a ways away, so he takes his skateboard.

  
As he peruses the snack aisle, board under his arm, the doorbell chimes and Keith walks in.

It’s a small store, so they’re in each other’s clear line of vision. Jake sighs and turns away from him, but he can still feel Keith’s eyes on his back. As Keith walks toward him slowly, Jake notices out of the corner of his eye that he’s limping.

  
“Hey, man,” Keith says.

  
Jake turns to look at him again. “Uh, hey?”

  
Instead of his usual sneer, Keith is just … staring at Jake. He seems nervous. There’s a big, nearly healed cut on his forehead.

  
“So … how are things? With you?” Keith asks haltingly.

  
“They’re fine,” Jake says. “How are you?” There’s an awkward beat. “Well, I guess not great, since you’re all, uh, bashed up, there …”

  
Keith takes a deep breath like he’s psyching himself up for something, then says, “Look, man, I know you and I … well, we have our differences, but I don’t want to see you get hurt. I know you probably don’t care about what I have to say anymore, but. Just. I gotta warn you. Stay away from that Aubrey chick. She’s dangerous. Okay?”

  
“What? What do you mean?”

  
“I- Look, I can’t talk about this here – just... watch out, alright? Take care of yourself.” He limps away hurriedly out of the aisle. Jake stares after him for a long moment.

  
  
The party kicks off. Barclay is beside himself; people might find out he's Bigfoot and they’re not even using coasters. Ned is telling lies about himself to a crowd of townies. Duck has invited Ranger Divine and they’re chatting in the corner, clearly baked. Mama is talking to Elizabeth, a busty woman of about 40, at the bar. Kirby and Agent Stern are making stilted conversation.

  
Aubrey and Dani lean against a wall, drinking vodka cranberries. Dani’s face is already a bit flushed with intoxication. _Lightweight_ , Aubrey thinks fondly.

  
“You good?” She asks. Dani nods and takes another sip of her drink.

  
“Never better.”

  
“Can Sylphs even get drunk?”

  
“Of course, we can! You’ve seen me hammered!” Dani laughs, a little louder than she usually would. “And I need it tonight. The winner of the art contest is announced tomorrow afternoon and I’m starting to panic.”

  
“Hey, you have nothing to worry about! You’re amazing!”

  
“I shouldn’t have used acrylic... I’m no good at it... I should have stuck with gouache...”

  
“Dani, I believe in you. Okay?” They look at each other and smile.

  
“Okay,” Dani says. She throws back the rest of her drink. “Need a refill?”

  
Aubrey hands over her cup. “Thanks.” As Dani walks to the bar, Aubrey calls after her, “Make yours a weak one!”

  
At the bar, Mama is leaning against the counter, contemplatively sipping a whiskey. She’s watching Moira from across the room, who has been forced into a game of beer pong and is losing terribly.

  
“Hey, there, Dani,” Mama says slowly, slurring a bit.

  
“Hey, Mama,” Dani says, doing her best to enunciate.

  
“Saw you over there with Aubrey,” Mama says with a grin. “That’s real cute. I’m so glad you’re with her, Dani, she’s a good kid.”

  
“Uh, yeah, me too,” Dani says. “Do you want a glass of water?”

  
“Yup, you two sure are cute, all right. I wish things were still that simple for old Mama.”

  
“Right. Uh, how’s it going with Elizabeth?” Dani asks as she tops up her and Aubrey’s glasses. “You two are, like, together? Or…?”

  
Mama is quiet for a second, still looking across the room at Moira. “We aren’t,” She admits. “Well, I was kinda thinkin’ I was gonna hook up with her this afternoon, but I didn’t at the last minute… I got a lot on my mind, these days, Dani.”

  
Dani makes a hasty retreat to Aubrey.

  
“Any trouble getting those drinks?” Aubrey teases. “Did Mama try to stop you from putting alcohol in yours?”

  
“Ha-ha. No. Actually, she’s pretty drunk and decided it would be a good idea to tell me all about her sex life.”

  
Aubrey laughs so hard cranberry juice and vodka shoot out of her nose.

  
  
  
Dani and Aubrey find themselves in a two-versus-two beer pong match with Jake and Ned. Dani is, unsurprisingly, the weakest link, on account of her already being pretty drunk before the game had even started. Ned isn’t much better, though, since he evidently can’t aim for shit. The girls manage to secure a win, much to Jake’s distress.

  
High off their victory, the emboldened girls decide to try to play a drunken duet on the piano. Moira quickly notices them, unfortunately, and shoos them off the bench before they make it halfway through a sloppy rendition of Hot Cross Buns.

  
Finally, the last of the guests begin to filter out: Duck and Juno head out together in Juno’s car, and Ned decides to crash in a vacant suite after Kirby just drives away without him.

  
Elizabeth is chatting up Mama at the door as she gathers her things. Mama says something that makes Elizabeth laugh.  
Meanwhile, the booze has really hit Dani now, who’s leaning against the piano and mumbling something about the rules of beer pong.

  
As she helps Dani up, Aubrey turns to Moira and asks, “Hey, can ghosts get drunk?”

  
Dani erupts into giggles. Moira does not laugh.

  
“Obviously.” Moira rolls her eyes. She seems huffier than usual.

  
“How, though, if you’re just air?” Aubrey wonders.

Moira opens her mouth to respond, but she’s interrupted by Mama’s laughter by the door.

“Why don’t you just help Dani to bed instead of bothering me with rude questions?” She snaps. Then she stalks away to the washroom.

“Man, geeze, what an asshole she is,” Dani slurs.  
  
Aubrey helps Dani up the stairs and into her room. She tucks her into bed after giving her a glass of water. Dani rolls over onto her side with a groan, and Aubrey lightly strokes her hair.

  
“Hey,” Aubrey says. “You’re gonna do great in that contest.”

  
There’s no response. Dani is already fast asleep.

  
  
Aubrey walks by Jake’s room on her way to bed. The light is on, so she pops her head in.

  
“Hey. I didn’t see much of you tonight,” she says.  
Jake looks up, startled. “Oh, hey, Aubrey. Yeah, Ned kept roping me into long stories about George Clooney.”

  
“Yeah, he’ll do that.”

  
“Uh, can I ask you something?” Jake says.

  
“What is it?”

  
Jake is quiet for a minute. Then he says, “Actually, it’s nothing, never mind.”

“Okay, weirdo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  
“Yeah, goodnight,” Jake says, and Aubrey stumbles to her room.

 

*****

 

Aubrey wakes at 2:37 pm to Dani shaking her awake.

“Aubrey! The results are up! Wake up!”

“Whazzat?” Aubrey groans and rolls over. Dani is standing next to her bed. Dani’s laptop is open and sitting on Aubrey’s bedside table.

“The contest! The results are up on the website!”

“Oh.” Aubrey sits up and rubs her eyes. “How did you do?”

“That’s why I woke you up! I need you to read it for me! I’m too nervous!”

Aubrey grabs the laptop. Dani has already pulled up the Kepler town website, but she hasn’t clicked on the Fine Arts link yet. Aubrey sighs and navigates to the right page. She reads through the list of contestants until she finds Dani’s name. Dani bounces nervously beside her.

“You won second place,” Aubrey says. “First was Bob Smith for his, uh, painted birdhouse.”

Dani yelps, then covers her mouth. “Oh my God! Really? I can’t believe it, I’m in the top two!”

Aubrey smiles at her. “Of course, you are! You should have gotten first place, though. A birdhouse, seriously? Look at it.” She points to the picture of the birdhouse, which is at the top of the page. It’s pretty, but. Come on. It’s a birdhouse.

“He carves them himself,” Dani explains. “It’s actually very impressive.”

“Whatever,” Aubrey says. “I bet yours was even better.”

“Uh, is there a picture of mine on there?” Dani asks casually, inspecting Aubrey’s bedspread.

“No, just our boy Bob’s. But it says here: _the runner-up has won a red ribbon, $100 cash, and a dinner for two at Wolf Ember Grill. Her artwork will be displayed at the Kepler Gallery for one month as well._ Hey, free dinner! And we can go see your painting in person!”

Dani whips her head up. “What? I didn’t know they were doing that!”

“That’s so exciting!” Aubrey hugs her. “Now everyone can see how talented you are!”

Dani looks horrified. “But I didn’t want anyone to see it!”

“Look, you’re insecure about your art. That’s okay. But I’m sure it’s amazing! It won second place! Let’s go see it today!”

“I’m not insecure, and we’re not going to see it. I’ll just go there tomorrow and ask for it back.” Dani grabs her laptop and gets up from the bed.

“But-”

“Aubrey, I don’t want people seeing it. Okay?” Dani looks dead serious.

Aubrey frowns. “Fine. It’s your choice, I guess.”

“Thank you. I’m gonna go grab some lunch. Want to come with?”

“I’m good,” Aubrey says, laying back down.

“Okay, see you later.” Dani walks quickly out of the room without another glance.

 

“So, which one is hers?” Ned asks.

A few hours later, Aubrey and Ned are standing in the Kepler Art Gallery, a one-room building smaller than the Cryptonomica. Aubrey feels a little guilty about coming here behind Dani’s back, but she knows that Dani is just feeling self-conscious; she’ll be glad that Aubrey has helped her break out of her shell.

“Uh, I’m not sure.” The wall is covered in the art of the contestants. Sculptures, paintings, photographs, and more are lined up neatly. None of them look like Dani’s style.

“Uh,” Ned says behind her, “I think I found it.”

On the opposite wall are two pieces: one, an admittedly very pretty birdhouse with _Winner: “Bird’s Eye View”_ (ugh) written underneath it on a plaque alongside a blue ribbon; and two, a painting adorned with a red ribbon, labelled _Runner-up: “Lady Flame.”_

It’s Aubrey.

Well, it’s sort-of Aubrey. It’s her face, picasso-like, abstract and beautiful, in neon red tones that immediately remind Aubrey of the lights at Kepler Mini-Putt. One eye is bright orange. Hanging here, on the wall, it just looks like a severe but very well-done portrait. But Aubrey knows what it really is. It’s a love letter.

“Um,” Ned says, “I’ll just … be over here …” and slowly turns back to the other wall. Aubrey keeps staring in awe at her own face, lovingly deconstructed and put back together again.

 

Jake detaches himself from his board and gets to his feet. He’s at the base of Mt. Kepler after a truly tubular ride down Bonemulcher. Most of the Lodgers had been hungover and miserable this morning, but he feels as good as always. Dani had been giddy over her win, but she still wasn’t feeling well enough to accompany him when he invited her out, and Aubrey is off somewhere with Ned, so today he’s going the mountain alone.

He removes his goggles to dust the snow off them properly. He looks out at the beautiful blue afternoon sky, dotted with puffy white clouds. There aren’t many other people out here today, but that just ensures him free run of the place. He only sees one other person, still shredding down the mountain.

As the other boarder comes closer, Jake recognizes the black-and-yellow gear. It’s a Hornet.

Jake groans and picks up his board. What is a Hornet doing on the slopes by themselves? They usually come to the mountain as a group.

As the Hornet reaches the base of the mountain, Jake recognizes their build, and then the design of their board as they step off it and pick it up. It’s Keith.

Jake’s suspicion is confirmed when Keith takes off his helmet. He notices Jake with a start, then hobbles over to him. Jake stands there awkwardly and waits for him to approach.

“Uh, hey,” Keith says.

“Hi.” There’s a beat of silence.

“You, uh, just out here by yourself today?”

“Yeah,” Jake says. “You too?”

“Yup. I’ve just been needing some time alone, lately. You know, to think about, like stuff,” Keith says. “Um, how are you?”

Jake bristles. “I’m pretty good right now. That might change, though. Are you gonna yell at me, or…?”

Keith sighs. “No, Jake, I’m not. Honestly, our whole … thing just feels kind of ...  petty these days, actually.”

There’s another minute of silence as they both stand there. Then Jake says, “Well, I was about to go get something to eat at the chalet down there. Do you want to join me?”

 

When Aubrey recovers from her shock, she returns to Ned’s side. He’s been uncomfortably examining the same picture of a bird for five minutes.

“Hey, we can go now, if you want,” she says.

Ned frowns. “You sure?”

“Yeah. It’s a really beautiful painting. I should talk to Dani about this.”

“Um, is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just … really need to talk to Dani.” She rubs her arm. “We probably shouldn’t have come here, I think.”

“Okay.”

As they climb into Ned’s ridiculous food truck, he says, “It’ll be okay. She’ll understand. And, hey, she clearly, uh, likes you very much, so…”

Aubrey smiles. “Thanks, Ned.”

 

Jake and Keith sit at a table in the ski chalet. Jake is sipping a hot chocolate. Keith is poking at an order of chili fries. They aren’t looking at each other. Jake has dozens of memories of coming here and sitting at this exact table with Keith. Back then, though, it wasn’t so uncomfortable.

“So,” Jake says finally when he can’t take the silence anymore. “What happened?” When Keith stares blankly, Jake gestures at the cut on his forehead. “Bad fall? You’re kind of limping, too.”

“Oh. Um, I crashed my dirt bike,” Keith says. “Fractured a leg. It’s healed, now, though.”

“Aren’t huma- people supposed to stay off an injured leg? And, like, maybe avoid Bonemulcher for a little while?”

Keith smiles a bit into his fries. “You sound like my dad when I was heading out this morning. I’m fine, though.”

“You’ve always been so reckless.”

Keith finally looks at him. He isn’t smiling anymore. “Well, I guess one of us hasn’t changed, then.”

“Actually, Keith, I’m the one who _didn’t_ change by suddenly deciding to form a gang,” Jake snaps.

“Hey! we’re not a-” Keith begins to shout, but he stops and lowers his voice. “We’re not a gang. We’re a stunt club, not _mobsters_. We’re, just, like, rowdy, okay? We have fun.” Jake rolls his eyes. “We aren’t bad people and you aren’t better than us.”

“I never said I was better than you.”

“Well, you sure act like it.”

Jake is surprised. He says, “I don’t mean to. I… actually really miss you guys. I just couldn't be part of what was happening with the club anymore.” When Keith doesn’t respond, he continues. “I guess … I’ve been feeling kind of weird about how everything went down, though. I wasn’t trying to ghost you guys, it just happened that way, you know?”

Saying it out loud, and to Keith, no less, terrifies and excites him at the same time. It’s the truth, too; he really misses the Kepler Stunt Club. He might miss Keith the most, actually. He misses goofing off with him. Keith had never taken things as seriously as Hollis or some of the others. It’s hard to imagine him as someone’s ‘lieutenant.’

“Well,” Keith says finally, “You might not have done it on purpose, but you still did it. Everything was a mess after you left. Hollis was totally overwhelmed, and that’s your fault. You were a pretty key player, you know. I’ve had to pick up the slack.”

“Keith… I’m sorry, okay? I’m really sorry about leaving Hollis to deal with everything, I’ve felt really shitty about that. They must hate me,” Jake says miserably. He takes a long swig of his hot chocolate and sets it down again. “But, to be honest… as much as I miss them and everyone else… your reaction always bothered me the most. I _hate_ that you hate me.” His voice is shaky. He avoids Keith’s gaze.

Keith takes a minute to reply. When he does, his voice is less harsh. He says, “Uh, you have cocoa on your nose.”

Jake blushes and rubs at his face. Then he gets up. “Okay, uh, I’m just gonna go home now. Feel better.”

As he turns to leave, he hears Keith say, “See you around, Jake.”

 

Aubrey knocks on Dani’s door and walks in. She’s laying on her bed, looking at her laptop, no doubt re-reading the contest results. She’s smiling.

“Hey, Aubrey. So, I was thinking we could go to Wolf Ember next Wednesday, how does that sound?”

“Uh, it sounds great.” Aubrey sits on her desk chair. “But I need to tell you something right now.”

Dani looks away from her laptop. “Okay, what is it?”

“Um…” Aubrey sighs, then just blurts it out. “I went to the gallery with Ned today.”

“What?” Dani seems confused at first, but she’s slowly looking angrier. “You what? Aubrey, why would you do that?”

“I know we agreed we wouldn’t, but-”

“Oh, my God! Aubrey, what the hell? That’s so embarrassing!”

“I thought you were just feeling self-conscious! I wouldn’t have gone if you had told me what you painted!”

Dani stops. “What does that mean? Did you not like the painting?”

“No, of course I did! I just mean, like…” Aubrey searches for the right words, feeling flustered. She and Dani have never argued like this before. “I would have respected your privacy if I knew you had a good reason!”

“So I need a good reason for you to respect my privacy, now?”

“No! That’s not what I meant! It wasn’t meant to be behind your back! I thought it would be like a nice surprise, or something! And I really do love it, Dani!”

Dani goes, “Ugh!” and storms out of her own room.

 

Aubrey finds her a few minutes later. She’s pacing back and forth behind the Lodge next to the hot spring, which is currently empty of people. Her face is red.

“Uh, hey, Dani…” Aubrey trails off.

“I just don't know why you would go behind my back like that,” Dani says.

“Okay, look.” Aubrey rubs her eyes. “That was shitty of me. I’m sorry. I guess I was just confused about why you were being so closed off about it, you know? I was curious. But I shouldn’t have lied to you. I’m really, really sorry, Dani.”

Dani sighs and walks closer. “It’s just so embarrassing,” she mumbles.

Aubrey smiles and cautiously rubs Dani’s shoulder. “No, it’s not. It’s really sweet.”

She won’t look Aubrey in the eye. “You can tell me if it’s too much.”

“Are you kidding? ‘Too much’ is where I live!”

Dani smiles timidly. “I was worried that it was too much. That’s why I didn’t show you. I guess I thought that I’d hide it until I was ready to give it to you? That’s dumb.”

“It’s not dumb.” Aubrey hugs her. “It’s kind of cute, actually.”

“Hey!” Dani hugs her back.

“I mean it! And you really don’t need to be embarrassed.”

“I’ve been kind of worried lately,” Dani whispers into her shoulder.

“About what? About us?”

“It’s just… you’re so cool, and, like, dynamic, you know? And I’m kind of … reserved, sometimes. I guess I’m just worried that you’ll get bored eventually. Like, maybe you’re just passing time with me while you’re in Kepler. I didn’t want to put myself out there and have you not feel as strongly as I do. It’s not just fun for me, anymore, it’s real.”

Aubrey’s throat feels kind of tight. “Dude! I’m, like, obsessed with you!” Dani laughs wetly. “I’ve been trying to impress you since the day we met. I thought you were kind of bored with _me,_ honestly, not the other way around!”

Dani pulls back to stare at her. “You don’t need to impress me, Aubrey. Just don’t lie to me, okay? Don’t you know that I’m, like, so fucking fond of you, already? My life has been so much better since you came here.”

Aubrey kisses her. She keeps her arms wrapped around her. Dani cups her jaw with one hand and wraps her other arm around her shoulder. Her lips are as chapped as always, and warm compared to the cold January air.

When they eventually pull back, Dani says, “I think everyone is out right now. Even Moira’s busy gardening out front.”

“Um, yeah,” Aubrey agrees. “Why?”

“Well… we could head up to my room? And, like, fool around, or something?” Dani is back to avoiding eye contact again. This is the shyest Aubrey’s ever seen her.

“ _Fuck_ yeah,” Aubrey says. “Um, I mean, I’d love to.”

Dani grabs her hand and drags her back inside. Aubrey can’t help but feel that she’s gotten off pretty easy.


End file.
